Download One Man, Two Battles, An Entire Nation: The Impact of Shiloh

A Means of Peace
Ulysses S. Grant
at Shiloh and Vicksburg
Chris Singleton
“The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is.
Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard as you can and
as often as you can, and keep moving on.”
~Ulysses S. Grant
West Central High School
Biggsville, Illinois

The American Civil War is full of battles where
courageous men fought and died to defend their
political and moral beliefs. No two battles
would be more important and decisive to the
nation’s future as Shiloh and Vicksburg. They
defined the future course of the war and the
legacy of a general named Ulysses S. Grant.
One Man…Ulysses S. Grant

Born in Ohio on April 27, 1822
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Originally named Hiram Ulysses Grant



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Family business was tanning (turning hides into
leather)


A paperwork error during West Point registration
made him Ulysses S. Grant (his mother’s maiden
name was Simpson)
When he was young, his nickname was ‘Lyss.
Later when his name was changed, the “U.S.”
would stand for Uncle Sam and Unconditional
Surrender
Grant disliked the tanning business so he worked
on the family farm and with horses instead.
Father got him appointed to West Point

He reluctantly went – he knew if he didn’t, he
wouldn’t get any further education.
Ulysses S. Grant 1865
Photo Library of Congress
Grant At West Point…

Excelled in math and horsemanship

Avid reader
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Enjoyed art classes

When entered, he was barely 5’ tall – Grant grew 6”
during the next 4 years

Graduated in the middle of his class (21 out of 39)

After graduation, married Julia Dent (his West Point
roommate’s sister)
Photo Library of Congress
U.S. Grant
Julia Dent Grant
Following West Point…

Fought in Mexican War 1846-1848

Assigned to Oregon Territory in 1852 and California in 1853

Lonely, Grant found comfort in drinking and resigned from the
army April 11, 1854. He rejoined his wife and sons in Missouri
on her family’s farm

After the army, Grant failed at farming and real estate and
eventually joined his father in the leather business in Galena,
Illinois.
At outbreak of Civil War…
General U.S. Grant in camp
Photo Library of Congress

Grant had failed in several
occupations and was not even in
U.S. Army

He rejoined the army and helped
with recruiting and drilling of
troops in Galena

Grant was appointed commander
of an unruly group of soldiers (the
21st Illinois Volunteers) in June
1861

Later named Brigadier General
______________________________________________________
“Be careful, Ulyss, you are a general now – it’s a good job, don’t lose it.”
~ Jesse Grant (father)
Two Battles…Shiloh & Vicksburg
North
vs.
South
Johnston
Grant
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/shiloh.htm
Beauregard
Sherman
Photos Library of Congress
Shiloh

The battle of Shiloh was given
its name by the North because
it was fought near a small
Methodist church called
Shiloh (which ironically is a
Hebrew word meaning “place
of peace.”)

The North named battles
after the nearest stream or
landmark
Reconstructed church at Shiloh battlefield . The church would also serve as a
hospital during the battle.

Grant was stationed nearby at place called Pittsburg Landing.
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The South named battles after the nearest village/town; thus, the Battle of
Shiloh is also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing by the South.
Both North & South were interested in holding the area due to nearby
Corinth, Mississippi. Corinth was a main railroad center for the
Confederates.
Shiloh…Day 1 – April 6, 1862
“The half-dressed dead and wounded showed what a surprise our attack had
been.”
~Henry Morton Stanley, Confederate soldier

The South,
commanded by Gen.
A. S. Johnston,
attacked with almost
total surprise

The morning looked
promising for the
South, but tough
resistance was shown
by the North at
Shiloh Church and in
the dense thicket
known as the
“Hornet’s Nest”
“Bullets were flying thicker than a hornet’s nest”
In the woods (top right), lay the
Hornet’s Nest where Union
infantry and artillery held out eight
hours against the Confederates.
The Federals turned back a series
of attacks across Duncan Field
(top left) and through the adjoining
woods.
The Hornet’s Nest
Late in the day, 62 cannon (like the one bottom left)
pounded the Hornet’s Nest from across the field
while Confederate infantry pressed in on the flanks.
Many Federals escaped, but more than 2000 men
held their ground. Isolated and outnumbered, the
Union defenders surrendered.
~Shiloh National Military Park
At the end of the
first day…

The Union ultimately lost the “Hornet’s Nest,” but their valiant fighting for long hours
bought Grant time to better defend Pittsburg Landing.

**Heavy casualties were inflicted by both sides

**Confederate General A.S. Johnston was killed and General P.G.T. Beauregard took
over. The South thought it would finish the North here once & for all.

Grant, however, predicted to Sherman “…lick ‘em tomorrow, though.”
Shiloh…Day 2 - April 7, 1862

Around 7 a.m., Grant
began an aggressive
counterattack

Weary Confederate forces
fought bravely, but Grant’s
numbers had been
reinforced and proved the
advantage.

By afternoon, the
Confederates retreated to
Corinth
Corinth
•Pick and Shovel Warfare
•These earthworks replicate
the fortifications built around
Corinth by first the
Confederates and later the
Union in 1862.
•In Corinth, the same number of men died from disease in
the seven weeks following Shiloh as did in the
battle itself.
Not your average
soldier…

John Clem
Horse-mounted
couriers and
drummer boys
were used during
the Civil war
instead of our
common day
telephones and
walkie-talkies.
John Clem (left)
served the Union
Army as a Shiloh
drummer boy at 10
years of age.
~Shiloh National Military Park
Bloody Pond
“This shallow pond attracted the weary and wounded soldiers of both armies
who were engaged in heavy fighting nearby. Some crowded here for their last
drink. Observers after the battle reported that the pond was littered with
dead soldiers and horses. Blood had turned the water a murky red.”
~Shiloh National Military Park
Shiloh results

Confederacy


Fewer overall casualties (10,699), but a failed
opportunity to take charge of a vital area

A.S. Johnston killed

A victory here would have:



Union
 Grant SURPRISED, but
held on and now in position
to take Corinth
 More casualties (13,047)
secured the Mississippi waterway
Union commanders would have been humiliated.
Western Tennessee and Kentucky would have been
recaptured
Overall:
Horrendous casualties – more soldiers were killed or wounded at Shiloh than in the
Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and Mexican War combined.
_________________________
Killed, wounded, or missing in the two-day battle:
23,746
Shiloh’s Relevance
Shiloh proved the war would not be over in a single, large battle as many had
thought.
Grant was criticized by many in the North and credit for the Union victory was
given to other generals. He was accused of being drunk and unprepared
which led to the horrific number of Union deaths.
Calls for Grant’s removal inundated the White House, but Lincoln responded by
saying, “I can’t spare this man, he fights.”
Grant learned, however, never to underestimate the enemy, showed a cool
demeanor under pressure, initiative, and confidence in his men. These traits
would become invaluable in later battles.
____________________________________________
“The South never smiled again after Shiloh.”
~George Washington Cable
New Orleans writer
Vicksburg


"Vicksburg is the nail
head that holds the
South's two halves
together.”
~Jefferson Davis
"Vicksburg is the key.
The war can never be
brought to a close until
the key is in our pocket.”
~Abraham Lincoln
Photos Library of Congress
Vicksburg’s importance

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Strategic location - on high bluffs overlooking the
Mississippi River
A main Southern stronghold in Mississippi
Would geographically cut the Confederacy in half
Vicksburg
http://americancivilwar.com/pictures/north_south_states.gif
Beginning in the spring of 1862, the Union tried and failed several
times to take the city using naval forces on the Mississippi River
and other maneuvers to bypass the town.
__________________________________________________________________
At left is the Union
gunboat Cairo. Ships such
as this were used during the
Vicksburg Campaign by
Grant and his forces.
Cairo was the first armored
warship sunk by a
Confederate torpedo.*
*Note that a Civil War
‘torpedo’ is today what we
would call a mine.
U.S.S. Cairo – part of the Union’s “brown-water navy”

In April 1863, Grant ignored other advice to return to Memphis
and decided to attack Vicksburg from the east.

Grant’s plan:
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1. Run Union Navy boats past Confederate blockades at
Vicksburg by night
2. March Union troops down the west side of the Mississippi
River
3. Have troops cross the river below Vicksburg
4. At the same time as troops were crossing south, have Sherman fire on
Confederates north of Vicksburg to create a diversion


Grant’s plan worked
He then marched his troops (40,000) northeast, knowingly
cutting off his supply lines & communications while deep in
enemy territory.

Even after all of this, two assaults by the North still failed to take
Vicksburg.

Grant decided to begin siege operations

Siege implies surrounding a city, cutting off its communications, and
usually includes direct assaults on its defenses.
Not only did the Confederate military suffer
during Vicksburg’s siege, so did its civilians.
_____________________________________________________________

To escape fire from the Union
shelling, Vicksburg citizens built
over 500 caves in nearby hillsides.
The Union soldiers called the town
“Prairie Dog City” because of this.

Vicksburg caves consisted of one
room to multi-rooms with parlors
and bedrooms furnished with items
from home.

Food shortages became so
desperate by the end of the siege
that people resorted to eating
mules, rats, and birds.
For personal, first-hand accounts, look
at some of the following sources
(the first two are excellent accounts
from the diary of Emma Balfour
and book by Mary Loughborough,
both Vicksburg survivors):
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http://civilwarwomen.blogspot.com/2
008/11/emma-harrison-balfour.html
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/
text-idx?c=moa;idno=ABY0213
(especially page 137)
http://www.maz.ca/other/cwres.html
http://friendsofraymond.org/articles/
cave-life.htm
“Catching the rabbit”

By the 44th day of the siege, the Vicksburg Daily Citizen was
forced to print on wallpaper. Despite this the editor wrote:


“The great Ulysses…has expressed his intention of dining in
Vicksburg on Saturday next, and celebrating the 4th of July by a grand
dinner and so forth…Ulysses must get into the city before he dines
in it. The way to cook rabbit is ‘first catch the rabbit.’ ”
Unknown to the editor, the saga was almost over. Vicksburg
surrendered on July 4. Grant’s men found the copy of the
Citizen and added this:

July 2, 1863 edition of the
Vicksburg Daily Citizen
“Two days bring about great changes. The banner of the Union
floats over Vicksburg, Gen. Grant has ‘caught the rabbit;’ he has
dined in Vicksburg, and he did bring his dinner with him. The
‘Citizen’ lives to see it. For the last time it appears on ‘wall-paper.’
No more will it eulogize the luxury of mule-meat and fricasseed
kitten – urge Southern warriors to such diet never-more.”
Photo Library of Congress

After the 47-day siege (almost 6 weeks),
General John C. Pemberton surrendered
Vicksburg to Union forces on July 4, 1863.
John C. Pemberton
Photo National Park Service

The pain did not easily go away for Vicksburg and its
citizens. The town would not celebrate the 4th of July
until 1945 when General Eisenhower visited during
WWII.
Vicksburg Results

Cut the Confederacy into two segments

Mississippi River was now under Union control

Northern commerce could float freely to the Gulf of Mexico

30,000 Confederate troops surrendered to the North

Good for Grant’s reputation
Illinois Memorial
at Vicksburg
•Illinois soldiers played an important
role at Vicksburg. Obviously, Grant
was in command but more than
36,000 Illinois troops helped win the
victory as well.
•Illinois provided over one-half of
the army that served at Vicksburg.
Illinois Memorial at Vicksburg
•The Illinois Memorial was dedicated
in 1906.
•Cost: Half of the state budget at the
time - about $194,000.
•It has 47 steps, one for each day of the
siege.
•No instrument of war is located on the
memorial.
•Real gold coats the eagle
Inside the Illinois Memorial, 60 bronze tablets list the
names of all the soldiers who fought at Vicksburg.
This tablet displays the names from the
17th Infantry which included soldiers
from the Monmouth, Illinois area.
It is estimated that around 400 women fought
during the Civil War. The name here, Albert
Cashire, was actually Jenny Hodges who fought for
the Union and ended up living in the Quincy
Veterans Home.
The battles of Shiloh & Vicksburg proved to be
turning points in the war & in Grant’s career.
__________________________________

Grant’s victory at Shiloh brought controversy, but it opened the way to gain
the railroad center of Corinth and later to the last Southern stronghold on the
Mississippi River – Vicksburg.

These battles secured the Western Theater for the Union.

Grant continued his battlefield success and was promoted to Supreme
Commander over all Union Armies in 1864.

Confederate General Robert E. Lee ultimately surrendered to Grant at
Appomattox Court House in April of 1865 to end the war.

Grant had been labeled a butcher and a drunk, but few had more influence on
the American Civil War.
“Although a soldier by profession, I have never
felt any sort of fondness for war, and I have
never advocated it, except as
a means of peace.”
~Ulysses S. Grant
Works Cited
Allen, Christopher. “Battle of Shiloh: The Devil’s Own Day.” America’s Civil War. January 2000. Retrieved July 23, 2009 from
http://www.historynet.com/battle-of-shiloh-the-devils-own-day.htm/3
American Civil War Vicksburg Mississippi Campaign. Retrieved July 25, 2009 from http://americancivilwar.com/vicks.html
Catton, Bruce. “Grant at Shiloh.” Retrieved July 22, 2009 from
http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1960/2/1960_2_64.shtml
Grant at Vicksburg. Retrieved July 22, 2009 from http://memory/loc.gov/ammem/today/may19.html
Greene, A. Wilson. U.S. Grant (1822-1885). Retrieved July 30, 2009 from
http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Grant_Ulysses_S_1822-1885
McPherson, James M. “The Atlas of the Civil War.” Retrieved July 25, 2009 from
http://www.civilwarhome.com/shilohdescription.htm.
Owens, Mackubin T. “Another Tale of May: Grant’s Vicksburg Campaign.”
http://www.ashbrook.org/publicat/oped/owens/07/vicksburg.html. Retrieved 7/22/2009
Photos by author unless otherwise noted